COMPUTATIONAL APPROACHES TO ENHANCE NANOSAFETY AND ADVANCE NANOMEDICINE

With the increasing use of nanoparticles in food processing, filtration/purification and consumer products, as well as the huge potential of their use in nanomedicine, a quantitative understanding of the effects of nanoparticle uptake and transport is needed. We provide examples of novel methods for modeling complex bio-nano interactions which are based on stochastic process algebras. Since model construction presumes sufficient availability of experimental data, recent developments in "nanoinformatics", an emerging discipline analogous to bioinfomatics, in building an accessible information infrastructure are subsequently discussed. Both computational areas offer opportunities for Filipinos to engage in collaborative, cutting edge research in this impactful field.

FORMALISMS FOR SPECIFYING MARKOVIAN POPULATION MODELS

In this survey, we compare several languages for specifying Markovian population models such as queuing networks and chemical reaction networks. All these languages — matrix descriptions, stochastic Petri nets, stoichiometric equations, stochastic process algebras, and guarded command models — describe continuous-time Markov chains, but they differ according to important properties, such as compositionality, expressiveness and succinctness, executability, and ease of use. Moreover, they provide different support for checking the well-formedness of a model and for analyzing a model.